Northampton holiday park evacuated because of flooding fears

Nick Spoors

Residents of Billing Aquadrome were being evacuated this morning because of potential danger from flooding.

The holiday park, which has about 1,300 residents, put out an alert this morning following breaches of the River Nene’s banks in parts of the site.

Evacuation started at 6.30am and residents will not be allowed back for another 24 hours. Electricity to the site was switched off at 7.30am.

A spokeswoman for Billing Aquadrome said: “Park management have kept in close contact with the Environment Agency overnight and this morning the decision was made to evacuate a small area at the north tip of the park, in line with our agreed flood evacuation plan.

“Fortunately, this is a quiet time of year for the touring pitches and as a result only a small number of holiday home owners were advised to vacate the area, purely as a precaution.

“Power was switched off to this area at 7.30am, in order to make the site safe.”

Billing Aquadrome said at about 11am that the water is already starting to disperse and a number of people have started to return to their holiday homes.

However it may take some time for the site to clear fully,

The Environment Agency has issued a flood warning (where “immediate action is required”) for the River Nene at Billing Aquadrome and nearby business parks, including the Riverside Business Park and Crow Lane Industrial Estate

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said this morning that the Washlands, which can take enough water to fill 960 Olympic-sized swimming pools, have filled quickly since yesterday.

He said: “A low pressure system has moved across Northamptonshire which caused heavy and persistent rainfall during Wednesday.

“The flow in the river Nene through Northampton has caused the Washlands to fill quickly.

“As the washland are nearing full, an increase in flow downstream can be expected [on Thursday morning].

“The public is advised to take action. We are monitoring the situation and will provide further updates accordingly.”